The Search
by LuLeo
Summary: Matthew sits in his kitchen and waits for Gilbert to come home. The albino had said he would be home around midnight. There is just one problem; midnight was for over an hour ago. I'm no good at summaries. PrussiaXCanada. Warnings and other stuff inside.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everybody! 8D

First I just want to say that this is my first fan fiction ever , so don't be too harsh XP

And English isn't my native language, so if there are any horrible mistakes, please tell me. That also concern all the other languages I have used in this story. I don't speak anything other than Swedish and English, so I had to use the internet to translate everything else, so if it's totally wrong, tell me and I will change it :3

As my plans are now, this will bee mostly a Prussia X Canada story, but with some Spain X Romano, Denmark X Norway and Germany X Italy in it too. X3

Oh, and the rating may go up in later chapters

Warnings: Yaoi, boyXboy, some cursing, probably a little voilence in later chapters... and thats all the warnings I can think of right now :P

Now, on with the story~!

Chapter one

Matthew Williams where sitting in his kitchen. The plate of pancakes before him that he had made to snack on while waiting, had become cold a long time ago. '_What a waste' _he thought to himself as he half hearted poked around in it with his fork.

He sighted and let his gaze wander to the old fashioned clock over the door entrance.

01.45

Gilbert - his loud-mouthed, albino boyfriend - had said he would be back from his pub-round with his friends, Francis and Antonio, around midnight.

That the Prussian was late home was nothing new and had happened many times before.

No, what made Matthew a little worried was the fact that Gilbert didn't answer his cellphone when he had tried to call it, which was really weird, because Gilbert did almost never, if ever, miss calls.

The latest hour he had left at least twenty messages in the albino's voice-mail in-box, the first ten asking, the rest kindly demanding, that Gilbert would call back as soon as he could.

Matthew sighted yet again and started to slowly twirl a lock of his blond hair around his finger. Maybe he was overreacting about this whole thing. Gilbert had probably just lost his phone somewhere, or the battery had died, or he was too smashed to even remember how to use a phone.

Especially the last option Matthew could clearly imagine happening. Yes, that was probably what had happened. The Canadian calmed down just a bit, he was stupid to get so worked up over such a silly thing. Gilbert would be home soon, safe and sound.

...But wouldn't Francis or Antonio answer if their friends phone kept ringing non stop for a hour?

Matthew felt the panic raise in his chest. The only reason there was for them not to answer, was that Gilbert no longer was with them and hopefully on his way home, or – Matthew swallowed hard – lying in a ditch or alley somewhere, hurt, or even dead.

Fright took a hard grip around his throat as he imagined all the ways Gilbert could end up in a ditch. Suddenly Matthew normally bad imagination became very good. The panic that before where only rising, had now bloomed completely and buried it's root's deep in his chest and made breathing hard.

He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind from disturbing pictures of a hurt and beaten Gilbert.

'C_alm down! Panic don't make things any better _'

What should he do? Go out and search? No, he couldn't do that,it was too dark outside, and he didn't even know to which pub the trio had gone to.

Call the police? Call...- of course! Why hadn't he thought about that before? _Francis_!

He quickly snatched his cell from the kitchen table and typed in the number to his former mentor and "father".

It didn't take long before he heard a familiar voice in the other end of the line.

"Bonsoir? "

"Bonsoir, Francis" For whatever reason, the Frenchman had always had a calming effect on Matthew, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding "It's Matthew"

"Ah! Good evening, mon cher!"there was a short paus, and Matthew could hear some sluthering spanish in the backround "..Could you hang on just a second, Mattie? Dear Antonio here have had a little much to drink, and carrying him at the sam time while holding the phone is rather diffikult "

You could hear Antonio whine something sounding like 'I'm not drunk!' fom the backround, and then Francis 'Yes,you are, now, can you sit here for a while when I talk to Matthew?' the statement wasn't really a question, rather a demand, and was answered by a grunt.

"Now, how are you this fabulous night, mon cher?", Francis was speaking to Matthew again.

"eh...fine...um, or not really...I'm just a little worried, because Gilbert isn't answering his phone, which he normally always does...is he still with you guys?" His voice must have sounded desperate, but actually, he was, so he didn't care.

"...No, we parted ways outside the pub, he said he was tired and that he would go strait home" Matthew could almost see Francis eyebrows furrowing "He hasn't come home yet...?"

"No, he hasn't...do you think something happened...? What if... " he felt tear pour up in his eyes " I mean, he doesn't answer his phone, and...-"

"Wait, wait, Matthew, calm down! It's a little early to panic just yet. He have probably just gone to the wrong house or something" He heard Francis take a deep breath before spoke again.

"He was quite smashed when he left, normally I would have followed him home, but as you maybe heard earlier, Antonio's even worse...apparently he had a big fight with Lovino earlier, so I suppose he tried to drink away his problems... anyway, have you tried to call Ludwig? Gilbert maybe went over to him"

"I haven't, but great idea" He smiled a little "...You are right, I was stupid to panic like that...Gilbert probably just lost his phone or something..."

"Yeah, probably. But you call Ludwig, and I just go and drop of Antonio, then I can come over to your place, and we can search together, oui?"

"Oui...Merci, Francis"

"Pas de problème, Matthew, see you later then"

"Yeah, and say hi to Antonio from me... bye"

"I will, bye"

Matthew was once again alone, but this time the silence didn't feel as suffocating. It felt good to know that Francis was coming, not as good as if Gilbert would come, of course, but it was way better than being alone.

The Canadian was glad Gilbert had put his brothers number in his contact book, because otherwise Matthew would have to call Francis again, and Francis would need to take Antonio's phone and call Lovino, and Lovino would have to tell Feliciano to tell Ludwig to call him... or maybe he just needed to call Francis, because Matthew would be surprised if here was a number the Frenchman didn't have.

His toughs were interrupted with a click and happy voice from the other side of the line.

"Hello, Feliciano speaki...Ve~, I mean, You have come to Doits...Ah, no, Germany's cellphone, Feliciano speaking~!"

Matthew couldn't help but to smile at the Italian. "Hello, Feliciano"

"...America?" Italy said, sounding confused.

The blond sighed...why did this always happen? Did he really look, and apparently sound, so much like his twin brother? And why didn't anyone ever call Alfred Matthew, instead of always the other way around?

"It's Canada..."

"Ah, Mattie! Come stai?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Um... where is Ludwig?"

"He's out shopping!"

"shopping...?" At this time? The clock was already 02.30, Matthew noticed.

"Yes...Me and Ludwig way laying on his sofa and we had just had s... " there was a short pause"...Eh...cuddling!....Yeah, Ludwig and I had been cuddling on his sofa! And then I suddenly wanted to eat pasta, but we didn't have any tomato-sauce, so I was about to go out buying some. Oh, and it's raining _really_ much outside right now, and we only got one umbrella, so only one could go, but Ludwig didn't want me to go out alone this late, so he went instead, Isn't he nice~? "

"Yes, very....Um, you haven't seen Gilbert, have you?"

"Yeah, I have~!" Hope grew in his chest so fast it almost hurt "He was here yesterday, we ate pasta, and-"

"Feli...I kind of meant today... and I was there too, remember?" Matthew suddenly had a urge to lay on the floor and cry.

"Oh...then no, today, the only one I seen is Ludwig!" Feliciano chirped happily.

"Oh, I see...but if he would drop by, tell him to call me, 'key?"

"Roger!" , Matthew could imagine that the Italian was saluting.

"Good, well, say hello to Ludwig from me"

"I will~! Bye bye!"

"Bye"

Matthew stared dumbly at the phone in his hand. So Gilbert hadn't gone home to his brother...Then were was he?

He felt that the panic from before was on it's way back, so he decided that he would do some cleaning to distract himself with until Francis arrived.

He started with the half eaten pancake plate on the table, and, not wanting to throw away still eat able food, put it in Kumajirou's food bowl.

He called for him, and it didn't take long before the little white polar bear came spacing in trough the door-less kitchen entrance.

He watched the bear eat until he heard a gentle knock on the front door, and hurried from his current position, leaning comfortable against the sink, to go and open.

Francis was, as always, dressed elegantly, wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and over that a simple black vest and black trousers. His golden, shoulder length hair was fixed in a little ponytail in the neck.

"Bonsoir, Matthew" He stepped forward and gave the Canadian a light hug and a kiss on the cheek "Or maybe good night would be a better greeting"

"Thank you for coming" Matthew smiled a little, but the sad and worried expression never left his eyes. He stepped aside so the Frenchman could come inside.

"No problem at all" Francis insured "What did Ludwig say?" while speaking, they made there way to the living room and both sat down in a armchair on each side of the small coffee table.

"He wasn't home, he was out buying pasta things for Feli, so it was Feliciano who answered... " He let out a sight "...And Gilbert wasn't there"

"I see...But sheer up, Matthew, There's still many places he could've gone too... let's check with Elizaveta and Roderich next"

"Ok...Um, do you ave their number? Cause I don't"

"Of course I have, who do you take me for?" He said with a pout. If it had been under other circumstances, Matthew maybe would have giggled, but now all he could bring himself to do was smile a little.

Francis picket up his phone from his pocket and pushed some buttons before lifting it to his ear. There was a moment of silence before the older blond spoke.

"Bonsoir, mon cher, It's Francis...Yeah, I know what time it is, but-...Wait, I need to ask someth-...Wai-" there was once again silence, "He hung up on me...!" Francis looked disbelieving on his phone, as it was the phone, not Roderich, who had been rude.

"Well, that's not so strange, I mean, any normal person would have gone to bed by now", As if to remind Matthew of the fact, he could barely suppress a sudden yawn.

'_No, I can't get tired now, we still don't know where Gilbert are' _He desperately tried to push back the sleepiness. He hadn't noticed how tired he had become until he actually sat down.

"Well, I think we can erase Roderich and Elizaveta from the list, cause if Gilbert had gone there ,I hardly believe they would still be sleeping..."Francis said, looking like he was deep in thoughts. He then noticed how tired the Canadian seemed to be. "Matthew, I know you probably won't agree to this, but I think you should try to get some sleep...frankly speaking, you look exhausted "

"I know...But...-"

"Mattie, try to think reasonable, I don't think you can come up with any good ideas if you barely can keep your eyes open..." he gave the other a almost pleading look, "And I will continue to ask around if someone has seen him, so you don't have to worry, now, try to get some sleep..." Matthew still didn't look convinced . Francis sighed. "Faites-le pour moi, s'il vous plaît?"

"All right..." Matthew said slowly, he had always been weak against Francis speaking French, which said person knew well, and always used it to the fullest. "But promise me you wake me up if something happens" He said as he moved over to the couch and laid down.

"I promise, bonne nuit, Mattie"

"Bonne nuit, Francis..."

Matthew closed his eyes, and It didn't even take ten minutes before he was fully asleep.

**Chapter one, End **

Translations:

Italian:

Come stai? – How are you?

French:

Bonsoir – Hello/Good day

Pas de problème – No problem

Faites-le pour moi, s'il vous plaît? - Do it for my sake, please?

Bonne nuit – Good night


	2. Chapter 2

Finally! I'm done with chapter two!! I've tried my best with this one and hope those who have waited for it don't get disappointed :)

I have also given Norway, Denmark and Iceland names, even if I know have no right to do so, but they really needed to have some, so yeah....

Their names are:

Norway : Mathias Hansen ( he was the only one that got a last name, I was to lazy to come up with ones for the others _)

Denmark : Lucas

Iceland: Brandur

Now, on with the story~!

**Chapter 2**

_Matthew found himself walking in a big garden full of red roses. The sky was blue and you could hear birds sing in every direction. Even if he was sure he had never been there before, Matthew already knew were he was going, and soon he entered a open space with big trees surrounding it. The ground was covered in marble, and there where some benches and a fountain, but what caught his eyes where the man standing in the middle._

_He had a plain sweater and worn out jeans. On his face there was a confident smile. His hair was silver white and he had eyes as red as blood. He where at least a million times more beautiful than any of the roses growing in the garden._

_Matthew wanted too call Gilbert's name and run into his arms, but the moment he opened his mouth, a large bang could be heard from the sky, that where no longer blue, but pitch black, and large raindrops started to fall._

_The roses on the bushes turned dark green and some sort of black fluid dripped from the petals. Gilbert was laying on the ground, face down, surrounded by a pool of blood._

"_Gilbert!" finally Matthews legs started working again and he half run, half stumbled to the fallen man's side. "Gilbert!" "Gilbert, can you hear me?" He rolled the albino over so that he was now laying on his back. _

_His chest wasn't moving. "No, no, no! Gilbert, please" Tears run down his face and landed on the Prussians pale cheeks. "Come on, open your eyes" Matthew managed to say between violent sobs. "Please...Don't...Don't leave me!"_

"Mattie? Matthew, wake up"

_...What?_

Matthew opened his eyes. Francis sat on the floor beside him with a rather worried expression on his face.

"Francis, I saw Gilbert...He was hurt, and he didn't breath, and.. and" His whole body started to shake and even more tears run down his face. "Shh, calm down, Mattie, It's alright. It was only a dream." Francis said in a comforting voice as he carefully removed the small drops of water from Matthews soaked cheeks and pulled him in for a gentle embrace. They sat like that until the younger calmed down a bit and his sobs was at a more controlled level.

"You alright?" Francis asked.

"No...and I'm not going to be before I know Gilbert is." He shuddered and tried to press back the images from the dream. "What time is it?" He looked out the window and saw that the sky was coloured bright pink.

"06.10, so we better get some breakfast." The Frenchman said, starting to raise from his crouched position.

" Have..." Matthews mouth felt dry as a desert, He swallowed and tried again. "...Have you found anything out...?" He both wanted and feared the answer. Wanting it because not knowing was tearing him from inside, and fearing it because of the possibility that it would tell him his boyfriend was no longer alive.

"...Nothing" Francis replied after a moment of hesitation. " It's like he have disappeared from the earth's surface" He sighted and ran his hand trough his hair. " I guess the only option left now is to go out and search for him..."

"Right" Matthew immediately rose from the couch. "Can we go at once?" To be honest, he was dead tired of just sitting around doing nothing, and he also felt guilty for sleeping away so many precious hours.

"Of course, and we can buy something to eat on the way at the supermarket. You can't look for lost nations on an empty stomach" Francis said with a smile.

"Sound's good" there was a hint of a smile on the Canadians lips, then there was a expression like he remembered something. "Speaking of food, can you wait just a second, Francis? Kumajirou must have his breakfast before I go" Matthew said as he hurried to the kitchen. "You can put on your shoes and stuff while waiting, Ok?"

"Ok" Francis started walking to the hall. When he was there he saw said polar bear sitting on the carpet. "Well, hello there, Kumajirou" He said as he bent down and petted it on it's fluffy head "Your owner just went to the kitchen to make your breakfast..." The bear looked like he had no idea who the Frenchman was talking about.

Then Francis noticed that something was sticking out of the little animals mouth. The object was thin and white. "A paper...?" He stretched his hand out and grabbed the edge. Kumajirou released it without protest. It turned out that it wasn't a normal paper, but a letter.

Matthews name was written with large squiggly letters in black on the cover. The rest of the envelope was completely empty; no address and nothing about who send it.

"Sorry it took such a long time, Francis" The Canadian walked into the hall "I couldn't find Kumajirou, and...- Oh, there you are." He said, looking down on his pet.

"You've got a letter" Francis said and held it out so that Matthew could see it.

"I have? From whom?" The younger blond asked, a curious look on his face, while taking the letter.

"I don't know. It isn't anything written except your name"

Looking even more curious, Matthew opened the envelope and took out the neatly folded paper that was inside and started to read. It's was rather short and written in the same style as his name had been on the envelope.

_Dear Matthew Williams_

_Congratulations._

_You have been selected to participate in my new game, which I have chosen to call 'The Search'. _

_As you may have noticed, I have taken one of your beloved one., But do not worry, it is just to make sure you do not refuse to participate, and will also serve as the grand price. So as long as you do not refuse, cheat or lose, no unnecessary harm will be made._

_The rules of this game is simple. You, and your fellow contestants, will be challenged by three different games, the first one in two days from now. All information about the games will come in similar letters as this one._

_The other people that will participate in The Search are:_

_Lovino Vargas_

_Feliciano Vargas_

_Mathias Hansen_

_And remember, even if I think it goes without saying, if you try to get help from other nations, except the ones mentioned earlier (Francis Bonnefoy is also an exception, which means you can talk and get advices from him, but he will not be allowed to participate in The Search) I can no longer guarantee the safety of your beloved. Same consequences will follow if you cheat or lose in any of the games. _

_Until next time, I bid you farewell_

Matthew stared at the paper in his hands. Someone had kidnapped Gilbert...? And he would have to play this...game, to get him back? The room was spinning, and he felt dizzy.

"What does it say?" Francis asked. The Canadians face had became paler and paler, and now he looked like he would pass out on the spot. Matthew slowly handed the letter over with a shaky hand. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to remember how to speak. Instead he leaned against the wall and slowly sank down on the floor.

There was a moment of silence when Francis read the letter, his expression becoming more serious the father down the page he came.

"What should I do...?" Matthew said, looking very little and helpless. Francis thought a moment before answering.

"Well...I really don't want to say this, but it doesn't seem like you have a choice..."

"I...I got to call Feliciano...It's maybe not to late to save Ludwig" Matthew said as he quite ungracefully got up from the floor and over to the phone that stood on a little table beside the front door. "and we must tell the others too" He desperately tried to push back the part of his mind that told him it probably already was too late.

It didn't even take two signals before someone picked up.

"Ludwig?"

"...No...It's Matthew again...I'm sorry, Feliciano..." Matthew didn't really know why he was apologizing. Maybe it just was because the Italian had sounded so hopeful.

"Oh...Hi, Mattie..."

"...Ludwig hasn't come home since he went shopping, right?"

Matthew could hear Feliciano take a shaky breath. He had probably cried. A lot.

"No... Do you think he's mad at me...? Did I do something wrong, so that he don't want t-to be with m-me a-anymore?" The last part was barely understandable between all the sobs.

"He's not mad at you, I promise...now, try to calm down" Matthew felt he was on the verge of tears himself, but pressed them back and continued. "Have you gotten any letters, Feli?"

"I...I don't know"

"I think you should have, because I've gotten one, and it says that you, Lovino, myself and..."He grabbed the letter from Francis, who was still holding it, and read the last name again. 'Mathias...?' "can you hold on a second, Feli?" Matthew said and then turned to the man beside him.

"Um...Who's Mathias...?" The Canadians cheeks turned a little red, because he himself knew better than anyone how is felt to be forgotten.

"That would be Norway, I think" Was Francis reply after a moment of thought. " But you don't need to feel ashamed about it, Mattie. It's not many who knows Norway's real name, same goes for Denmark and Iceland"

"Thank you" Matthew said before speaking to Feliciano again."...What was I saying? Oh, right...The letter... It was saying that you, Lovino, Norway and myself have to play some kind of game called 'The Search' if we want to get our loved ones back, so Ludwig is not mad at you; He's been kidnapped!"

"Ve...?" The Italian didn't really seem to understand.

"Well, you can read the letter yourself later, but I think for now, the only thing we can do is to wait for the first challenge, that is in two days..."

"Ok...Mattie, can I come over to your place? It's a little lonely and scary to be all by myself..."

"Of course, and then maybe we can come up with some sort of plan."And it would also be nice to talk to someone in the same situation, Matthew added in his mind.

"Grazie~! Ve, and I can make pasta! Then maybe we will feel a little better."

"Yeah, maybe we will...See you later, Feli."

"Bye bye, see you later!"

Matthew put the phone down. It felt like there was a big rock on his chest. Why did this have to happen? Who was this person who, apparently, had kidnapped four persons just so that he or she could play this stupid game? There was so many questions with no answers.

"Feliciano is coming over..."

"Yeah, I heard..." Francis wanted to say something to cheer the other one up, but nothing good came to his mind.

___

Mathias Hansen, also known as Norway, was not worried. No, really, he wasn't. Why would he...?

Now you maybe wonders why said Norwegian sat alone in his living room consecrating on denying his own feelings. To know the reason, you need to go back in time to the day before this one.

That particular day had started relatively good. He had woken up in the morning to notice that his Idiot boyfriend, also known as Lucas, or Denmark, depending on who you talk to, for once had woken up before him, because the other side of the bed was empty.

The Norwegian could hear someone moving around in the kitchen and the air was filled with the smell of fried eggs, toast and tea. He got up and put on one of Lucas sweaters that had been thrown on the floor. It had the text 'Hugs not Drugs' on the front and was so big it reached down to the middle of his tights.

When e reached the kitchen he saw the Dane standing by the stove and frying eggs in a frying pan. He smiled brightly when he noticed the other's presence.

"Good morning, Norge"

"...I didn't know you could cook." If it would had been hundred years earlier, Mathias would had scolded the Dane for using that name, bur nowadays he didn't care.

Lucas smile changed to a pout. "That wasn't very nice. I'm actually quite good at cooking!"

"Oh, really?"

"I am!"

"Yes, yes..." He sat down at the dining table and Lucas put down a plate with a toast and two eggs on before him and a big cup of tea, then he went to get his own and then seated himself at the opposite side of the table.

They ate in silence for a while before the Dane spoke. "Mathias...Um, do you got any plans for today...?"

"No, not really...why?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could go out and do something..."

"No."

"What, why not?"

"Because the news yesterday said it would rain today."

"Come on, it will be fun! We can goo see a movie or something, then you don't need to get wet"

"I don't like movies."

"...You don't?"

Well actually, he did, he just didn't feel like going out today, so he said "No, I don't"

"Then we can do something else. It's just that you haven't been out of the house for days, Mathias. I know that you like being alone and all that, but doing stuff and meeting other people is...Is...I don't know what to call it, but I think you should do it more."

He knew the Dane had a point, but Mathias wasn't the kind of people who changed his mind so easily.

"I talk with Brandur sometimes..."

"Ice doesn't count"

"..."

"Nor does Berwald or Tino"

"..." Could he read minds?

"Woohoo, I won~! So, where do you want to go?" Lucas smiled from ear to ear.

The Norwegian sighed. "...Go see a movie."

"I thought you didn't like movies?" The taller man said with a teasing smile.

"hold kjeft."

__

So they went to the cinema and saw a movie. It was set I a late 1700s scenario with two sisters that fell in love with the same man, and in a act of jealousy, one of the sisters killed the other one, and the whole ting ended in tragedy. Mathias wasn't sure, but he think Lucas cried at the end, even if said person promptly denied it afterwards.

Now, what made this seemingly pleasant evening end up whit a worried Norwegian sitting alone at home was the incident that took place right after the movie, when they slowly walked home in the rain.

"Did you like it?" Lucas asked, speaking about the movie.

"...I don't know, I mean, the actors did a great job and all that, but the film as whole gave me a sort of bad aftertaste... Siblings shouldn't fight with each other..."

"No...They really shouldn't..."

They walked in silence, both trying to push back unpleasant memories from the past. Lucas was the first to break the silence.

"Ah...My shoelace is loose..." He said while crouching down to tie it.

Mathias walked a few more steps before stopping, then, without looking at the other man, he started to speak.

"...Lucas... I'm not going to say this again, so pay attention..." A light blush appeared on his cheeks. "...T-thank you...for making me breakfast and... And taking me to the cinema...It was fun..." He became even redder. "And I want you to know that I...I... Love you." He fell silent and waited for some sort of response. But nothing came. No laugh, no teasing. Nothing. "Hey, are you even listening to me?" He spun around to look at the Dane.

Empty. The street behind him was empty. Lucas was gone.

"Lucas?" He stopped and looked around, but he couldn't see the blond anywhere. "Lucas!?" he tried calling a little higher, but got no answer. He started to make his way back to the cinema, maybe the Lucas had forgotten something and turned back to look for it.

But he wasn't there either. Mathias tried calling his phone, but got no answer. The Norwegian started looking around in places he though Lucas maybe could have gone to, and then he looked in places he didn't though Lucas could have gone to. But found nothing.

After almost two hours of searching he made himself give up and went home, reasoning that sooner or later, the Dane would also do that. And if he didn't, Mathias would call his little brother and maybe Berwald and Tino in the morning, and they could go out and search together.

__

It's now morning, and we have come to the situation we had in the beginning. Namely, that Mathias is sitting in his living room, trying not to worry about his lost boyfriend.

He was just about to call Brandur, his brother, when his phone ringed.

"Hallo?"

"Hello...Um...Is it Norway I'm talking to...?"

**Chapter two, End**

Translations:

Norwegian:

Norge - Norway

Hold kjeft – Shut up

Hallo – Hello


	3. Chapter 3

"Hello... Um... Is it Norway I'm talking to...?"

Mathias recognized this voice. Wasn't he that loud America guy that always came up with stupid ideas at world meetings?

"Yes, I'm Norway. But Mathias is fine."

"Oh, good... Um... I'm Canada... But you can call me Matthew..." Canada...? Oh, right, America's hard-to-remember twin. While the Canadian spoke, Mathias stood looking out of one of the big living room windows. Just as he was going to turn away and go sit on the couch instead, something in the corner of his eye made him look that way.

Someone was standing by the mailbox.

First he thought it was the postman, but this man was dressed entirely in black, with a big hat that shadowed his face. To be honest, he looked exactly like a typical 'bad guy' from a movie.

Mathias was disturbed from his thoughts when Matthew spoke again. "...These may seem like strange questions... But are you missing someone close to you, and... have you received any strange letters...?"

"Yes at the first question... And 'I think so' at the second."

"What...?"

"Some very strange person just left something in my mailbox."

"Seriously? What did he look like?"

"I don't know... I couldn't see his face." The man, after leaving what probably was a letter, was now hurrying down the street. As soon as he had rounded the corner, Mathias almost ran trough the house and then out the front door and looked inside the mailbox. Inside was, as he had expected, a plain white letter. He took it out and saw his own name written on the envelope.

"I have the letter...What about it?" He said to the Canadian.

"Well, I think the fastest way to explain that is if you read it yourself."

The Norwegian opened the letter and started to read.

On the other side of the line, Matthew and Francis had once again seated themselves in the living room. The Canadian had at first tried to make the older man make the call; he wasn't very good with speaking to new people. But Francis had, with the argument that it would be good social training for him, refused.

Matthew heard Norway open the envelope and then the only sound that could be heard for a while was their breathing. After some minutes Mathias spoke again.

"So, what are you... we... going to do?" Mathias asked, the calmness in his voice surprising even himself. But then again, the Norwegian had always been good when it came to controlling or hiding his own feelings.

"Well... Right now, Feliciano is on his way here, but other than that I actually have no idea what to do..." The Canadian said, hours of suppressed worries and hopelessness shining through in his voice.

"Guess we only got to wait for more information on these 'games'."

"Yeah... Um... You wouldn't mind coming over here...? Ah... I mean, you don't have to, but the letter said that we would be some sort team mates, and... And I thought it would maybe be good if we get to know each other a little better...Or something." Oh God, he felt so stupid. Was it really so hard to just ask someone if they wanted to come over?

"I don't mind... And I can't do anything alone, anyway."

"Good... Um, do you know where I live...?"

"Yes, I do."

"...Right... Then I see you later, I suppose." The phone call ended and Matthew let out a sigh. "He's kind of hard to talk to..." He said, more to himself than to Francis.

Said Frenchman was about to answer when someone knocked on the door.

"Oh, it's probably Feli."

"I'll go and open it," Matthew said as he got up and walked to the door and opened it. Outside Feliciano stood on the doorstep, smiling his usual hundred volt smile. "Mattie~!" He chirped and tackle-hugged the Canadian, who fell to the floor with a surprised yelp.

"Oi, Feliciano, calm down!" An angry voice came from the door entrance. Matthew looked up and saw the lively Italian twin, Lovino, standing with his arms crossed and a grumpy expression on his face.

"Oh... Hi, Lovino," The Canadian greeted, but was totally ignored as the older Italian stepped in and hoisted his brother up from the floor. He started to scold him for being too happy and annoying, but Feliciano didn't listen, instead he started to speak with Matthew, who now had gotten up on his feet again.

"Ve... I hope you don't mind that I took brother with me...?"

"No, no, not at all. M-Mathias is on his way here right now, so I thought of asking Lovino over anyway." Matthew hesitated on the Norwegian's name a bit, because calling another nation his or her human name was only something you did if you were friends, but Norway himself had said it was alright, right? And they were some sort of friends... Or maybe 'sitting in the same boat' acquaintances would be a better name for it, Matthew thought with a troubled expression on his face.

"Good~! Because I couldn't just leave him crying alone in big bro Antonio's house like that...-"

"I wasn't crying!" Lovino said, turning red as a tomato. "Why would I cry for a bastard like him?!"

"Ve, because you love him, of course~!" Feliciano said and threw his arms in the air. The older twin turned even redder and tried to speak, but was apparently too embarrassed or angry, or both, to remember how to talk.

"I cried really much when Ludwig disappeared, because I love him really, really much! But now that I know he's been kidnapped, I'm not so worried anymore."

"Eh? You're not?" Matthew said, a surprised look on his face.

"No, because Ludwig is strong and smart, so he will keep himself safe."

"H-how can you say that?" The Canadian said, a sudden anger swelling up in his chest. Francis, drawn by the noises, made his way into the hall just as something snapped inside of Matthew "How can you just say he'll be safe? You don't know that!" He knew it was wrong to take his anger out on Feliciano, but he just couldn't stop. "What if something bad has happened? Or if this psycho game maker just making fun of us and they are already..." His voice died down and he sank to the floor. All the stress anger and worry that had built up inside of him the latest twenty-four hours suddenly came loose and washed over him like a spring river. Snot and tears flooded down his face and he sobbed like little child. "...W-what if they are already...dead...!"

Everyone in the room except Feliciano stared with a choked expression at the shaking heap on the floor. The shy and gentle always-smiling Matthew had just snapped? And on Feliciano, no less.

Everything was quiet until Feliciano slowly bent down and gently pulled Matthew into a thigh hug. When he spoke, his face was completely serious and nothing of his normal bluntness could be seen.

"It's true that I don't know if he is safe or not. It's true that I don't know if something bad has happened. And it's true that he very well could be dead." There was a long silence. The Italian took a deep breath and smiled, releasing Matthew a bit so they could see each other's faces before continuing. "But I trust Ludwig. No matter what happens, I trust him with all my heart, because that's all I've got when things go bad." Feliciano took out a handkerchief and wiped the Canadian's face. "So why don't you try trusting Gilbert a little more?"

Trusting Gilbert...? Matthew did trust Gilbert. "...I do trust him... I-It's just that..." Yeah, what was it?

The Prussian was strong, Matthew knew that, so why did he worry so much?

...No... He hadn't trusted him enough. His outburst earlier was clear proof of that. All he ever did was go around and whine over what _maybe _could have happened or what _maybe _is going to happen, instead of focusing on what was really important, namely what was happening right here and now and on what was _really_ going to happen. He thought about it for a long while before speaking.

"...You're right, Feli. I wasn't trying enough." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and dried his moist eyes with the back of his hand. "Thank you, Feliciano. I'm feeling a little better now... And I'm really sorry for screaming at you when it wasn't your fault at all..."

"Ve~! Don't worry about it, Mattie. You needed it, and I'm just happy to help! Oh, and I think you should maybe go and blow your nose, it's almost running down your face again."

Matthew's hands flew up and covered his now bright red face. "I...I'm sorry!" He stammered out and in a blink of an eye he was up on his feet and running to the bathroom.

When he had left, the three people in the room stood quiet, a little unsure of what to do or say. The younger of the Italian twins was the first to break the silence.

"Anyone want to have pasta~?"

__

The rest of the day flew by relatively quickly, with lots of pasta making and Italian songs. Around four o'clock Mathias arrived and they all seated themselves in the living room, chatting with each other and discussing the last day's events. But there was one person who didn't pay attention to the conversation.

To be honest, Lovino didn't really know what to think about the whole story. But one thing he knew was what he felt, even if he tried to deny it, and what he felt was guilt. If he just hadn't started that stupid quarrel, the Spaniard would have probably stayed over at Lovino's place, and then maybe he wouldn't have been kidnapped. But it wasn't his fault, he told himself over and over. It wasn't his fault that that bastard never shut up with his stupid, 'Oh, Lovi, you're so cute! Just like a tomato~!' crap. But head-butting him may have been a little of an overreaction...

"...So what do you think, Lovino?"

He looked up when he heard his name and saw that everyone in the room was looking at him.

"Eh...? What?"

"We were discussing what the games may be... You have any ideas, Lovino?" Matthew asked.

But before the older Italian had time to answer, one of the windows shattered with a loud crash. Mathias, who had been sitting in the couch in front of it, quickly covered his face with his arms when hundreds of glass shards landed all over him and on the floor.

"Mathias!" Matthew ran to the Norwegian's side. "Are you alright?"

"Yes... but I think I've cut my hand a little bit." He showed his hand. There was a diagonal cut going from his right knuckle to the left side of the wrist which was bleeding quite heavily.

"What the hell was that?" Lovino searched the floor after something that could have made the window break.

"Probably this..." Francis picked up a medium sized stone from the carpet that had a big white envelope tied to it. "Can I open it?" The Frenchman asked, looking at the others; it was their letter after all.

"Sure... But can you wait just a minute while I go and get some medical stuff for Mathias' hand?" Matthew said while Mathias just nodded.

"Of course, mon cher."

It took about three minutes until the Canadian was back again and, after removing the worst of the glass, they once again seated themselves around the small coffee table, but this time Mathias and Matthew sat next to each other so that the latter could take care of the Norwegian's wounded hand.

You could almost feel the tension in the air when Francis began to open the carefully sealed envelope. He turned it upside down and let the content fall out on the table.

It was four train tickets and a short note which read:

_Pack your things and get going!_

_And don't miss your train, OK?_

The tickets were made of seemingly old, almost yellow, paper. On one side there was a simple painted smiling face that wore a hat with a flower on it and on the other side from where and at what time the train would go was printed.

"Oh fuck... You're kidding me, right?" Lovino had just said what everyone was thinking. The train left in thirty minutes, and from Matthew's house to the station said on the tickets took twenty-five minutes by car.

It took a few seconds before the message really sank in, but when it did, Francis was the first to react.

"Hurry and get your things ready! I'll drive you to the station," He said, already on his way to the door.

The others ran to 'pack their things' but none of them actually knew what to take with them or how long they would be away. They took some 'travel food', as Feliciano had called it, and then hurried out to the car. And not even five minutes after they had received the message, they were on their way.

It was a twenty-five minutes ride to the station, if you drove legally, that is. Matthew had never had a more frightening car ride in his whole life, and more than once he thought that they were going to crash into something, or someone, or just slide off the road, but the Frenchman maneuvered the car skillfully and avoided all obstacles.

When they finally arrived at the station, the Canadian let out a sigh of relief and stumbled out of the vehicle. But there was no time for a rest. There were only five minutes left until the train would leave, so they said a hasty farewell to Francis before dashing into the big station.

"You know where we're going?" Lovino asked Matthew as they ran.

The Canadian nodded. "Yes, follow me."

After running through what felt like an endless amount of tunnels and different departure halls, they finally made it to theirs, only to discover that the train's engine was in full action, which meant it would leave any second. Matthew made his already tired legs run even faster, which made them scream in protest. But they couldn't miss this train. If they did, all hope would be gone.

He was almost there when he heard a surprised yelp from behind, and turned his head just in time to see Feliciano hit the ground. "Feli!" He was now right in front of the train, and put one foot inside at the same time as loud whistle that signaled that the train was departing echoed trough the large hall.

"Feliciano, get up! Hurry!"

In the blink of an eye Lovino was beside his brother, lifted him up and started to run. It was just as the doors started to close. He made a jump forward, dragging his startled twin with him.

They made it inside just as the doors closed behind them. The Italians hadn't any chance to stop in the small space off the train and crashed right into Matthew and Mathias, making them fall over.

When the train started moving, they were all lying on the floor in a big heap, breathing heavily from the sprint. "You idiot...!" Lovino managed to say, as he half-heartedly hit his brother on the shoulder.

"Ve... I'm so sorry! I... I tripped on my foot..."

"Don't worry about it," Matthew said as he sat up, rubbing his head that had hit the wall on the opposite side of the doors. He let out a sight of relief.

"We made it!" he said with a big smile.

__

In the shadows of the station a young girl stood. She watched the train that was now leaving the station. A seemingly uncharacteristic grin of wicked amusement appeared on her childish face.

"And so the game begins..." She said and vanished back into the darkness.

**Chapter Three, End**

Waaai!! Finally done with chapter three! It felt like it took forever to write it! And with this I'm finally done with what's kind of the first part of the story, and I hope I will manage to put in a little more action from now on X3 Oh, and I'm also thinking of putting a little Gilbo-action in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you Barefoot11 for Beta'ing this chapter (and chapter three too :3 ) and thank you all readers for your wonderful reviews :)

Chapter Four

Gilbert grunted and slowly opened his eyes, only to close them quickly again, because the small movement had sent a wave of pain through his head. He tried again, this time with a better result, but his head still hurt like hell. The first thing he noticed was that his hands were chained to the wall over his head and when he tried to move them, they were numb from being too long in the same position.

The albino looked around. The room was dark and the only source of light was a small window with bars in front. The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone in the room. Against every wall of the square-shaped room a person was chained in the same fashion as he was, but he couldn't really see their faces because of the lack of light.

"Bruder? Are you awake?" Gilbert turned his head to the left, where the familiar voice of his little brother had come from.

"Ludwig? Yeah, I'm awake, but where the fuck are we?"

"I don't know... The last thing I remember is walking out of the supermarket..."

"Practically the same thing here, but I was on my way home from the pub, but then some fucker sneaked up from behind a knocked me out," Gilbert said as he pulled at his chains, but to no avail. Someone had done a really good job with chaining them. "How long have you been awake?"

"Around an hour, I think, and it's becoming brighter and brighter outside, so it's probably morning."

Gilbert nodded in response and looked around the room again. "Who're the others...?" he said, mostly to himself, while squinting his eyes to see better. Both seemed to still be out cold, because their heads hung limply against their chests. One of them had dark-blond spiky hair and the other, the one to Gilbert's right, had brown, kind of curly hair, and the albino soon recognized him as Antonio.

"Oi, Antonio! Wake up!" No reaction.

Ludwig sighted. "Gilbert, give it up. I have tried waking you guys ever since I woke up, but without result, so shouting isn't going to help."

"Shut up, West. You just don't know the right methods. Fortunate enough, I do." He turned to the Spaniard with a smirk and cleared his throat. "Antonio~! Your dear Lovino is in grave danger and he's begging for your help!"

This time, the reaction was immediate.

Antonio's head shot up with such speed that Ludwig was certain it would result in a whiplash injury. "What? Where?" The Spaniard had a groggy, half-asleep look on his face that soon turned into a pained one. The sudden movement had probably sent a bolt of pain through his head.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Gilbert said with an evil smile.

"Wah...? Gilbert..?" The Spaniard looked around, confused. "Where's Lovi?"

"Not here, just said that to wake you up," The Prussian said, sounding amused.

"Come on, Bruder, try to be a little more serious here," Ludwig said with a stern look on his face.

"Where are we?" Antonio asked, still confused.

"Don't know, seems like we all were knocked out and dragged here."

The German nodded in agreement with his brother, and then turned his head to the only still unconscious person. "Now we just need to wake Denmark up."

"Oh, so he's Denmark..." Gilbert said looking a little puzzled. "...I guess we need to do this the hard way, because we don't know any 'wake up phrases' to use on him."

"Wait, Gilbert, what do you mean 'the hard way'?" Ludwig had a suspicious look in his face. He had seen his brother's 'hard ways' before, and none of the times the victim had been particularly happy afterwards.

But instead of answering, the albino seemed to like the idea of showing instead. So without warning, Gilbert kicked a stone from the dirty ground across the room right in the head of the Dane with a slightly disturbing 'crack' sound.

"Bullseye!"

"Gilbert! That really wasn't...-"

But before Ludwig could finish his sentence, the Dane started to stir and mumble. "Come on, Norge... Kun ti minutter mere..."

"What did he say...?" Antonio asked the two German brothers, mostly because their countries were closer to Denmark, so they would probably understand more than he did.

"Something about minutes and Norway... I think," Ludwig replied.

"Well, at least we got a reaction. Let's try again!" Gilbert really seemed to enjoy the idea of kicking stones into other's faces. But as he got himself ready for his second try, he got, to his big disappointment, stopped by his brother's scolding voice.

"Cut it out, Gilbert. We got enough problems as it is without you going around cracking people's skulls."

"But he almost woke up...!" No, people, the great nation of Prussia didn't whine, it just sounded very much like it.

"Sooner or later he will wake up by himself," Ludwig said with a sigh. He was not in the mood to deal with his elder brother's childishness. "Right now we need to focus on how we're going to-..."

"Fuck...My head..."

"Oh, Denmark! Ha ha! Told you it would wake him up!" Gilbert fired off a triumphing grin at his brother, who just sighed again, before turning to speak to the still groggy Dane.

"Denmark, how are you feeling?"

"...A little dizzy, and my head's hurting like hell, but otherwise I'm fine...Where are we... um...Germany, right?"

"Yes... And regarding where we are... Let's just say I know as much as you do."

"We all seem to have been drugged and then dragged here," Antonio piped in. "Oh and I'm Spain by the way, because I don't think we have really met before. If you want, you can call me Antonio," He said with a friendly smile on his face.

"Oh, hi! I'm Denmark, but Lucas is fine." The introduction seemed to be directed to everyone, not just Antonio.

"Yo!" Gilbert greeted back with his characteristic up-to-no-good smile. "Let's all cut the formal crap. My human name's Gilbert, and Germany's over there is West."

"For the hundred time, Gilbert! You calling me that stupid nickname; fine, but don't go make others do it. My human name is Ludwig."

"But I-..."

The albino's sentence was cut short when the lock on the cell door suddenly emitted a clicking sound. It slowly opened, with the old and rusty hinges screaming out in protest.

In stepped a tall, elderly looking man with silver hair. He wore a neat suit and over his left arm hung a white cloth. His face was serious and his eyes as cold as ice. He paid no attention to the men in the room; instead he turned his head slightly, and talked to someone that apparently stood outside.

"Who will be first, my Lady?"

The voice that answered was girly and slightly high pitched. It reminded of summer, butterflies and youth, but it was something in the background of it that made Gilbert's stomach turn in disgust. How could something so beautiful still sound so... tainted?

"Is everyone awake?"

"Yes, my Lady."

An irritated frown could be heard. "Oh, so troublesome! Then take the Scandinavian first. I'm hungry and don't want to be down here any more, so hurry up and knock him out agai-..."

"Hey! Don't ignore us! Who the hell are you?" Gilbert wasn't the kind of person that just kept quiet in this kind of situations.

Before anyone could react, the elderly man was right in front of the Prussian and the sound of his hand colliding with Gilbert's cheek could be heard. His eyes were even colder than before, but other than that, his face was expressionless. "Don't interrupt the Mistress, you low life," He hissed between his teeth, the words soaking with venom.

After quickly recovering from the shock of being slapped, the albino looked right in the eyes of the other man. His red eyes shone with pure anger. "Sieht es so aus als ob mich das interessiert, Arschloch?" He had accidentally slipped back to his own language, forgetting that probably no one except Ludwig had understand what he had said.

The butler-like man once again raised his hand to deal a second blow, but his action was cut of when the girly voice spoke.

"Stop it, Philip, it doesn't matter. Our guests will soon arrive, and I'm hungry, so I want to eat before they come. So hurry up!"

With one last cold looks towards Gilbert, the man turned around.

"My apologies, my Lady. I lost my temper."

He walked over to Lucas, and without hesitation, he buried his fist in his stomach. A choked sound came from the Dane when his lungs suddenly became empty of air and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. The corners of his eyesight started to become black and he felt his consciousness slip. This old man was much stronger than he looked.

"Lucas!" The Scandinavian wasn't sure who had called his name, but that was the last thing he remembered before his vision became black and his mind fell into darkness.

They had been travelling with the train for almost five hours now. In the beginning there had been plenty of other people on the train, but as the station stops became fewer and fewer, so did the passengers. They were now alone.

Outside the window the landscapes flashed by with the rhythmic sounds from the vehicle. The rain tapping against the glass played as music in the background. Matthew had almost found the train ride fun in the beginning, but as his fellow passengers had fallen asleep one after another and the things to look at outside had became nothing but fields and trees, it was plain boring.

The Canadian wished he could fall asleep like the others, but he just couldn't. He had even tried counting sheep, but after a half hour without result, he gave up and continued to look out the window.

"You can't sleep?"

Matthew yelped and almost fell out of his seat at the sudden noise, who had been Mathias.

"...No, I'm not that tired... Did I wake you?"

"No."

"Eh... Ok..." Matthew couldn't help but feel a little awkward. "It's started raining outside..." Well, stupid comments about the weather were better than silence. "Do you like rain?"

"Yes."

The Canadian was just about to try with a new subject, when Mathias suddenly continued speaking.

"Rain is nice, but I like the sun better."

"Oh, I like the sun better too, because I always think of sad things when it's raining... It's like the sky is crying..."

"But afterwards, the air always feels much cleaner, like all the pollutions have been washed away."

"...Yeah, like the old days...When cars and stuff weren't invited yet... But I must admit that all the new technology makes things much easier," Matthew said, and laughed a little at the last sentence.

He remembered when Arthur had invited him, Alfred and Francis over to his house to show them some revolutionary new invention called the 'steam engine'. It had been the first time since the American Revolution all three of them had met without it resulting in fighting. It had been really fun, like they had been a family all over again.

Matthew forced his thoughts out of the nostalgic moment and turned to the Norwegian again.

"So...You're together with Denmark, right?" The Canadian felt a little uncomfortable with the question, but he hadn't come up with anything better to talk about.

"...Yeah." Matthew wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the Norwegian's cheeks turn a little pink.

"How is he? As a person, I mean."

Mathias seemed to think on the question for a while before answering.

"If... If I'm rain, then he is the sun... Always warm and happy."

The Canadian wasn't sure, but there was almost something melancholy in the other's voice when he continued.

"But it's not right for the rain to be with the sun. Sooner or later, the rain will extinguish the sun... Like water on fire..."

The words hung heavy in the air, and Matthew got the feeling that the meaning was something the Norwegian had repeated often to himself.

"You're wrong." Mathias looked surprised at the other's suddenly harsh words. And truth be told, so was Matthew. He hadn't meant the words to come out so loud. "Ah... Eh... I mean, I think you're wrong. Because...Um..." The Canadian had no idea what to say, but the other just seemed so sad, so he wanted to say something to cheer him up. He looked around in the train in an attempt to come up with something. His eyes landed on a bit of brightly coloured piece of paper on the floor and then on the rain outside the window. An idea started to form in his mind.

"Do... Do you know rainbows?"

Mathias raised a questioning eyebrow. "Rainbows...?"

Matthew carefully chose his words as he continued. "Yeah...They can only bee seen when the sun is shining and it's raining at the same time, so... So if it was like you saying that the rain and the sun shouldn't be together, then... Then why would something as beautiful as rainbows exist?"

There was the smallest sign of surprise in the Norwegian's face.

"I... I have never thought about it that way before." Mathias then fell silent, looking down at his hands, seemingly deep in thought. After a while he lifted his head and, with a shadow of a smile on his lips, he spoke.

"But I guess rainbows really are beautiful."

The train continued its steady speed and brought the four countries closer and closer to the end station. A butler stood waiting, ready to take them to their final destination: the big mansion of the Emmott family.

**Chapter Four, End**

Translations:

German:

Sieht es so aus als ob mich das interessiert, Arschloch? - Does it looks like I care, Asshole?


	5. Chapter 5

I'm so so so very sorry it's so late! But I've got a new schedule at school that takes away all my mornings (Until now I used to write in the mornings before going to school), so I've barely had any time to write...And on top of that this chapter was very hard to write...And I have maybe been a little lazy...But I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me! TT-TT

And, as always, thank you for all the wonderful reviews! They really keep me going XD And thank you Barefoot11 for beta'ing!!

Chapter Five

The fact that they didn't know which station they would get off on had worried Matthew, but he calmed down a little after they had talked about it. They come to the solution that someone probably would be there to pick them up, because otherwise it should have been something written about it in their letters.

It turned out that they'd been right because on the end station stood a man waiting for them. But even if he hadn't been there, they would've gotten off anyway. There weren't any more stations along that line, so the train changed directions to follow the same track back again.

Matthew carefully studied the man standing before them. He was tall and fancy dressed, complete with hair that had probably been another colour once, but turned white because of age. He had a stern and cold face that made Matthew feel a little like a mouse in front of a snake.

The man bowed slightly. "Welcome, dear Guests. My mistress has awaited your arrival."

"Don't give us that crap, you bastard! Where are they?" Lovino demanded, an angry scowl on his face as he crossed his arms.

The man eyed the older Italian with cold eyes. "For the moment, they are perfectly fine...But let me remind you, young man; if you speak like that to the young Lady, I can no longer guarantee that."

Lovino clenched his teeth in suppressed anger and looked like he was about to yell something back at the man. But after his younger brother sent him a stern but at the same time pleading look, he stayed silent.

Which, Matthew thought, was probably for the best. Not that he didn't feel the same way as Lovino – he himself wanted nothing more than to strangle the old man and force him to take them to where Gilbert and the others were – but he knew, especially after what the geezer had just said, that angry demands or violence only would make the situation worse. A lot worse. So he swallowed his anger and impatience and put on a calm face. If the best way to keep Gilbert safe was to play along, he would do it.

"May I ask who this Lady could be?" He asked, keeping his voice as monotone as possible.

"Her name is Eloise Emmott, the head and last member of the Emmott family. Ruler of the Marble estate and all the land surrounding it," The man answered, almost sounding a little proud.

"And you?"

"The family's butler. Sean Philip Baker, at your service." He bowed a little once again. "Now, if you please." He made a gesture towards a waiting car just outside the little train station. "My Lady is a very impatient woman; she does not like to be kept waiting."

- - -

The car was as fancy and as old as the bastard-butler, Lovino noted, while they moved forward on the bumpy country road in a depressingly slow tempo. Couldn't this piece of junk go any faster? The Italian sighed in irritation and leaned his head back against the seat. He started to get really stressed and tired about the whole story. And not being allowed to scream his frustration out on that stupid old man didn't help at all.

He gazed to his side and tried to read how the others were doing. Well, at least he could tell that Matthew, who sat on his right, wasn't as calm as he tried to make it look like, because he was furiously twirling a lock of his hair around his finger. It was probably some sort of stress-release thing the Canadian did without even noticing it himself. Mathias on the other hand showed no signs of distress at all. He just sat staring out of the window with his normal emotionless expression. If he was worried; he was God damn good at hiding it.

Then there was Feliciano. He sat at Lovino's left, playing with the sleeves of his shirt. Everybody else would probably say that the younger Italian seemed perfectly fine, but Lovino knew better than to be fooled by his brother's little acts. He, better than anyone else, knew how much Feliciano loved and needed to have the potato-bastard by his side. He also knew that his twin's cheer-up speech to Matthew earlier had been as much for Feliciano himself as it had been for the Canadian.

But soon Lovino got other things to think about than the mental health of his brother and friends as the car turned and drove through a big iron gate and into an even bigger courtyard. In the middle of the area was a fountain and at the side were beautiful bushes and trees. On the other side of the fountain was an enormous mansion. Lovino guessed that this was the 'Marble mansion' the butler had spoken of before because all the walls were made of the whitest marble.

They drove around the fountain before stopping in front of the stair leading up to the front door.

- - -

_So this is the place where Gilbert has been taken to_, Matthew thought, feeling almost excited, as they walked through the long halls of the big Marble mansion. Soon they would meet with the person responsible for all this mess.

"We are here," The butler said as he stopped in front of a door that was slightly bigger then those they had passed before. He knocked on the door lightly, but before receiving any sort of answer he pushed down the elegant handle and let the door slowly open. Behind the now open door was a big dining hall with three long tables and in the very far end of the room was a throne where a person was sitting.

She had long and wavy brown hair that hung loose around her shoulders and down on her back. If Matthew would guess, he'd say the girl was about fifteen years old. She was wearing a black Lolita dress with green accessories that matched her venomous green eyes. She didn't rise from her seated position when the four countries entered the room and walked up to the throne; instead she just smiled a superior smile while eying them thoroughly.

Matthew was a little surprised. Ever since he had read the first letter, he had imagined the writer much older and more...criminal like?

After what felt like an hour, the girl finally spoke. "Welcome, dear Contestants. How was your trip?"

"...Fine, I suppose," Matthew answered after a moment of hesitation. He felt very uncomfortable, because he really didn't know how to react to the girl. Or to the situation as whole, really. He wished that Francis was there, because he always seemed to know what to do.

"Good. You know, I'm very exited about this new game of mine, because I have planned it for a really long time, so I hope you will enjoy it as well. So, why don't we introduce ourselves and then get started?" The girl said while giggling little.

"Why would we want to introduce our self to the likes of you?" Lovino snapped. "And you already know our names, because you've written them in the letters, stupi-..." His last word was quickly interrupted by Feliciano's hand.

The girl put an even sweeter smile on her face, but her voice was full of threat as she answered. "Because I say so. And I would like that you do not use that tone at me ever again. I am the ruler of this game, remember that. If you do not behave I may have to hurt one of your little friends, and I do not think you would like that, so _do as I say_, ok?" While she spoke, she had stood up and begun to slowly walk down the couple stairs until she was just a few feet away from them.

Lovino made no effort not to show his anger, but stayed quiet.

"I take that as a yes. Now, introduce yourself."

"...Lovino Vargas."

"Oh, then you must bee his twin, Feliciano, right?" She asked, turning to the other Italian.

"Yes...I am," Feliciano answered.

"Ok...Next."

"Matthew Williams."

"Pleasure too meet you." She then seemed to get even more exited when she turned to the Norwegian "Then you are Mathias? How absolutely wonderful! That means you are the first to compete! Philip, go make him ready!" Mathias didn't have time to react before the butler was behind him and had grabbed his shoulder and started to walk out of the room, dragging the startled Nordic with him.

"Oi, wait! Where are you taking him?" Lovino demanded to know.

"Weren't you listen, dummy? He's going to bee the one to play the first game," The girl said. "Now, we better get going to the arena, or they are going to get there before us." She started to walk the same way the butler and Mathias had just gone some seconds ago. "Follow me."

- - -

Mathias stood outside a big metal door. The butler had left him there, saying that he was to go inside as soon as the door opened.

For the first time in ages, Mathias was nervous. He had to win this game, no matter what it was. If he lost everything he had would be gone. There would be no more sun in his world. No more warmth. And with that, he himself would sooner or later freeze to death.

He took some deep breath to calm himself as the heavy doors slowly started to move. It had been quite dark in the hall, so it took some seconds for his eyes to adjust to the much brighter light that came from the now fully opened doors.

The first thing he noticed when he came into the new room was that it smelled strongly of seawater. It didn't take long for Mathias to understand why.

There was an enormous pool covering more than half of the room. Mathias almost felt relieved, because if this game involved water, then maybe it wouldn't be so hard for him to manage. Because, modern times or not, the Scandinavian was still a Viking.

He quickly checked his surroundings, remembering everything that might come to use later on. The room was large and had big windows covering almost all of the walls. On the right side of the room was four chairs in which his three companions and the girl where seated. The butler stood silently behind his mistress. He got an encouraging smile from Matthew and a wave from Feliciano.

The pool itself looked like pools usually do, except for its size, which was far larger than standard, and that it apparently was filled with seawater. It wasn't until then that he noticed the shark fins that were slowly circulating in the water. It gave him a bad feeling, because whatever the reason or situation was, sharks always meant trouble.

Mathias was so concentrated on the surroundings that he almost jumped a little when the girl's voice suddenly filled the whole room. He turned to look at her and saw that she was speaking in a megaphone.

"Welcome!" She said, as if she spoke to a crowd and not just four people. "Honestly, I'm really tired of waiting, so I'm going to skip all the formalities and just go directly to explaining the game." She made a small movement with her hand toward her servant, who seemed to understand what she wanted and discreetly moved from her side. "The game as a whole, as you hopefully already have understood, is that you will try to find and free your boyfriends... Actually you have already cleared the first part, to find them, I mean." She looked like she hadn't thought of that herself until that moment, before shrugging it away and getting back to her normal smile. "Anyway, what's left now is that you just have to free them to get them back. Easy, right?"

For many reasons, the sharks in the pool being one of them, Mathias doubted her words to the fullest. None of these games would be easy…

"Now," The girl continued. "I hardly think I need to explain anything more. Hopefully you're not a completely brainless person so you will probably figure the rest out yourself."

While she spoke, a mechanic squeaking was heard as something fairly large was hoisted down from a previously unseen opening in the ceiling on the other side of the room and over the water. The Norwegian focused his eyes and tried to identify what is was, which didn't take more than a few seconds.

It was his sun. It was Lucas.

Mathias breathed in sharply at the realization. A flood of thoughts and feelings rushed through his head. He was relieved that the Dane seemed to just be unconscious, and he couldn't see any wounds from the distance. He could only hope that he would be able to say the same thing if he got a closer look.

Lucas hung in an iron chain which was wrapped around his torso and arms. The mechanic noise stopped, and so did the chain and its cargo. The Dane was now hanging only a few feet over the water surface. Mathias' blood froze as he remembered the sharks. If they tried, they would probably be able to reach up and make use of their sharp teeth. Some of them were already circling dangerously near the defenseless country. He sent a stressed look at the girl, hoping she would start the game soon.

But before that, he forced himself to remember, he needed to get help. The Norwegian may be experienced with water, but it wasn't like he would be able to cross a pool filled with sharks all by himself. He took some deep breaths and closed his eyes, searching within his mind for the presence he new would be there.

'_Hymner, can you hear me?_'

At first he got no answer, but after forcing more of his mind against the slumbering being, he got a response.

'…**Jeg lytter, Mestre.**'

'_Good. Get ready, I need to borrow your power._'

'**Som du ønsker.**'

Mathias felt the familiar – and recently almost nostalgic – stream of energy. After all his years of peace, he had almost forgotten the sensation of having power rush through every inch of his body. It made his fingers vibrate because of the pressure. When he opened his eyes again the worry that had been visible in them earlier was gone. Instead there was calmness, confidence and a burning will.

All his attention where focused on the lifeless figure hanging on the other side of the pool, and he barely heard it when the girl announced that the game had begun.

He ran a few steps before jumping off from the pool edge out over the water. Still in mid-air he let go of his power, making it roam free around him for half of a second before collecting it under his feet. Before anyone could even blink, the air and water under him whirled up, quickly expanding until it finally took the form of a big troll head.

Mathias landed on Hymner's head graciously and they set off at full-speed over the water. When the ancient troll no longer was awake inside him to suppress it, the panic rose once again – especially when he saw all the sharks that had gathered under Lucas. He desperately tried to come up with something to distract them with but nothing came to his mind. He cursed in frustration and clenched his hands.

When he did that he felt a shot of pain on the back of his hand. First he was surprised, before he remembered what it was. The cut he had got when the stone had crashed trough the window. With the realization came an idea.

He took one end of the bandage in his mouth and rapidly unwrapped the wound before crouching down and sticking the hand in the water. It had stopped bleeding a long time ago, but the water quickly undid the thin scab that had formed.

Blood soon streamed out and into the water. It was not much, but just enough to draw the sharks' attention to Mathias instead of Lucas. In seconds the beasts had surrounded him, lead by their sharp sense of smell, and were now curiously observing their new prey. Without warning one of them attacked, its massive body shooting out of the water with surprising force, mouth open and ready to bite.

"Hymner!" Mathias said before he quickly brought up his arms, making the water that now was parts of his inner spirit follow the movement, creating wall of water between him and the approaching animal. It successfully sent it off its course. He then took advantage of the gap left from the attacking shark and set off full speed out of the ring of animals. Unfortunately they where on his tracks again so fast he nearly didn't had any time to collect his spinning thoughts.

He needed to get rid of the sharks somehow, or come up with a way too free Lucas while still being chased. He decided to try the later option, because he had absolutely no idea how to make them just disappear. Mathias accelerated in speed even more and went in a big half-moon circle, trying to shake the sharks of as much as possible ass well as taking some time to go through in his head what he was about to do, before going straight for the figure hanging in the other end.

After what felt like an eternity he was finally by the Dane's side. He sacrificed a second to glance behind, pleased to see that the sharks still were a good couple of meters away, confused by his round turn. He turned most of his attention to the heavy iron chains. He cursed under his breath when discovering that getting them loose wasn't such an easy task he had hoped it would be. He was surprised when a clicking sound was heard from above and the chain broke.

It felt like time went in slow motion as he watched his hands slip, allowing the unconscious blonde to fall into the water where he immediately sunk to the bottom like a stone because of the chains that where still wrapped loosely around his body.

Mathias emitted a gasped sound and he felt his insides twist in pure despair. He desperately tried to force his ham-strung body to move. Meanwhile the precious bubbles of air continued to float to the surface.

**Chapter five, End**

Well...That didn't turn out too bad... =3= But the end felt kind of rushed...

Don't know when next update will be, but I don't think I will manage to write it in one week. Hopefully it will take around two...And if I'm unlucky it will take three... But I will do my best!!

Please review! It makes me happy! And a happy writer writes better stories!

Translations:

Norwegian:

Jeg lytter, Mestre – I'm listening, Master

Som du ønsker – As you wish


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I'm so so so sorry it's so late!! There were a lot of problems when I tried to upload it the first time and then I didn't have the time, but now, finally it's up!! I hope you enjoy! XD

Oh, and I've just got to complain a bit : Aaargh!!!! I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but here in Sweden it's such ridiculous amount of snow outside that it isn't even funny!! And it's still snowing!! And I'm so F*ing tired of it!! I mean, it feels like I haven't seen asphalt in forever!! Just white white white all the time!!

- - -

"Lucas!!"

Before he had time to think, Mathias was in the water. He heard Hymner call for him to wait, but he didn't care. All he could think about was the person lying on the bottom and the bubbles of air coming from him. He wanted them to stop, because every bubble was a countdown. A countdown to when the bubbles would stop. To when the air would be gone.

To when Lucas would die.

He swam as fast as he could. In a few seconds he was so close he could almost reach. Just a little more! Mathias stretched out his hand. But just as his fingertips touched the red fabric of Lucas' shirt, an intense pain cut through his leg and he was drawn back.

He could taste the metallic taste of his own blood in the water as the shark dragged him further and further away from the Dane. A scream of pain was right on the tip of his tongue, but he managed to suppress it; screaming would only waste air that he didn't even have to begin with. The agony made it hard to think and his mind became blurred along with his vision.

'_Hymner!_'

In seconds, the giant troll head was there and rammed into the shark's side, forcing it to release his bleeding leg. The moment Mathias was free, he turned to swim back, but this time it wasn't as easy as it had been the last time. The slightest movement caused a bolt of pain to shoot through his leg and up his body. On top of that his lungs were on fire because of the lack of air. Meanwhile Hymner continued to wrestle with the now very angry shark.

As he swam, he tried to locate the rest of the sharks. One of them was already floating by the surface; probably Hymner's work. Another had interfered with Hymner's fight, so the spirit was now battling two sharks.

And the last one was...Mathias' eyes widened with despair. The last one was right beside Lucas, inspecting its prey with hungry eyes. The beast slowly opened its strong jaws, revealing rows of sharp, deadly fangs. The shark slowly swam nearer.

And there were no more bubbles. No more air.

He wouldn't make it in time. Even if his leg had been unharmed, the distance was too far. _'Lucas! Lucas! Lucas!!!' _He screamed out his name - desperately tried to swim faster.

And the shark slowly closed its jaws.

- - -

Afterwards he didn't remember much of what happened next. But according to what people had told him, and to the little memory he actually had, there had suddenly been a large explosion in the water. Thereafter Mathias had floated up, completely surrounded by the giant troll head, carrying Lucas. After reaching the pool's edge Hymner had dissolved into thin air and the two of them had collapsed on the ground.

- - -

Mathias was suddenly no longer in the water, but instead laying on the cold stone slabs, coughing up water. Very dizzy, confused and a little disoriented he looked around. How did he get up from the water...? Then he remembered something.

"Lucas...!"

The Dane was lying beside him, face down. Mathias quickly got to his side and turned him around. "Lucas?" He felt panic rising as he put one shaking hand on the other's chest and another over his mouth. It felt like time had stopped completely.

He wasn't breathing.

"No no no! Lucas!" Mathias' whole body started shaking even more and his vision was blurry - both from tears and from blood loss - as he desperately tried to get some sort of reaction out of the limp body. "Lucas! Open your eyes...! P-please!" No no no!" This wasn't happening! He couldn't think properly and his own breathing became laboured.

Suddenly he felt a stinging pain on his cheek. "Mathias, calm down!" It was Matthew. "Panic isn't helping!"

"Wha-..? I-I...L-Lucas...H-He...!" Matthew put his hands on the hysterical Nordic's shoulders and shook him carefully.

"He isn't dead yet! But if we don't do something now, he's going to be! Now, can you do CPR or should I do it?"

CPR...? It took some seconds before his dazed brain could register what the other had said, and even longer before he understood what it meant. "Ah, r- right!" How in hell could he have forgotten that? He was a sailor! He cursed himself for not thinking of that sooner.

With somewhat regained calmness, he fixed Lucas head in the right position before bending down. He connected the other's lips to his own and then blew air. One...Two.

He moved up and pressed his hands to the other's chest, while counting in his head to thirty. When nothing happened he repeated the action.

One...Two. Come on, _breathe_!

Still nothing. Again, this time adding some more force when pushing.

_Oh please, breathe! I'm begging you! Breathe! _Mathias felt the panic from before returning.

Nothing.

_No no no! Please! Don't leave me!_

One...Tw-...

He felt a tongue slip in between his parted lips and a hand on his back, pressing him closer. First he was too shocked to do anything, but when he realized what happened, he rapidly parted from the kiss and found himself staring into a pair of cobalt blue eyes.

"Lucas...?"

The Dane looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by his own coughing. Mathias quickly helped the other into a sitting position. After a good minute Lucas' lungs seemed to have decided that they had gotten rid of enough water for their owner to be allowed to speak.

"Mathias...?"

Mathias brought a shaky hand up to the other's cheek and felt the warm skin. Then he moved his thumb over the lips and felt warm, _living_, breath.

"Norge...?" Lucas questioned again, looking a little confused. "Hvorfor græder du? Har du ondt nogen steder? Er du ondt?" The confusion had changed to worry.

Crying...? Yes, he was. Hurt? Well, yes, he was, but it didn't hurt any more. In fact, he didn't feel much at all except for relief and...Happiness? Calmness? He didn't really know what to call it. But he no longer cared. He had made it. Lucas was alive.

As his vision became darker and his mind started to slip into unconsciousness he tiredly wondered if it would be bad thing that he just rested a little bit. He decided it wasn't, and slowly leaned forward until he was seated heavily against the other's chest. Mathias sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. He could hear Lucas' heart beating in a steady rhythm.

It was a truly beautiful sound.

- - -

It had been a long time since Matthew had been so freaked out. Not only did he had at least ten heart attacks throughout Mathias' game, but then, when he finally thought it was over, it turns out that the Norwegian had an awful wound on his leg.

After calming down the second panicked Scandinavian that day, he and Lucas had somewhat managed to make the bleeding stop. But the shorter Nordic was still unconscious and very pale. On top of that the risk of infection was looming over them like a preying hawk.

Matthew sighed and looked around the new surroundings for what felt like the hundred time. They where now in a different arena, this one almost bigger then the other and mostly covered in sand instead of water. In the middle was something square covered with a black cloth. Another difference from the other arena was that this one had a sturdy fence surrounding it, so Matthew had to lean down a little to be able to see between the thick metal bars.

"So...If I understood this right... We were kidnapped so that that little girl over there could have fun watching you fight near to death trying to free us...?"

Matthew looked at Lucas, who was seated in the chair next to his with Mathias comfortably tucked on his lap.

"Yes... Horrible, right?"

"No kidding. So now it's the Italian twins turn?"

"I think so. And apparently they are going to do theirs together." Matthew said, because he didn't know what to think other than that when Lovino and Feliciano had both been taken away after Mathias' game.

"Isn't that a little unfair? I mean, that they are two."

"Maybe, maybe not. Those two aren't really known for being able to cooperate very well... Plus…" Matthew threw a venomous glare at the girl sitting in a throne some meters away. "…I don't think _she _cares about if it's fair or not."

- - -

Feliciano nervously looked around in the small corridor in which he and his brother now stood. The walls were very clean and smooth, possibly made of cement. In front of them was a gate made of several vertical iron bars that made him think of a prison. The only different was that these were placed so close to each other that you could barely see through to the other side.

He really didn't like all this. He wanted to be home with Ludwig and eat pasta... But he couldn't cry! He had decided the moment he first read the letter that he wouldn't whine or complain. He would be strong. Strong like Ludwig. So far it had gone quite well, but it was getting harder and harder. He just missed Ludwig so so much.

At least it was their turn now. He was both relieved and happy that he apparently would do his game together with his brother, since doing it alone would be very scary. There was only one problem that confused him a little: their hands where chained together. He lifted his left hand and moved it so that the chains rattled.

"Ve~ Lovi, why are we chained together?"

Lovino scowled and crossed his arms. "How the heck should I know?"

"I don't know... I- I just thought-..." Feliciano looked away nervously. Why was his brother always so angry with him?

"Precisely, you didn't think anything." The older Italian snapped. "Now focus! You saw Norway's trial, right? If ours is anything like his, it's not going to be easy!"

"Sì, fratello..."

He sighted and glanced at his brother. Lovino's face was tense and his clenched hands were shaking slightly. Probably a very similar look to his own. He felt so helpless, so weak. As the other had said: he had seen Mathias game. Would he have been able to defeat a bunch of angry sharks? ...Probably not. And that thought was what scared him the most. Because if he failed, Ludwig was as good as dead. And not just Ludwig, probably Lovino and Antonio too...

Feliciano felt the tears gather in his eyes, and it was no longer just his hands that where shaking. He didn't want anyone to die or get hurt. He didn't want any of this. He just wanted everyone to be together and happy... The tears now run freely down his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away with the back of his hand, but they where immediately replaced with new one. See, he couldn't even keep the promise to himself not to cry!

Suddenly a pair of arms where wrapped around his shoulders.

"Shh, don't cry, idiot... It's all right, we will make this," Lovino said, voice shaking a little.

"B-but what if I d-don't-..."

"Stop whining like a loser, idiot! We can do this, ok? So stop crying." Lovino had loosened the embrace a bit so that he was now looking right into his twin's eyes. His expression then softened and his cheeks became a brilliant shade of red as he added, "And besides... big brother is here to protect you..."

Feliciano stared in shock back at his brother. Had he just heard right? Lovino was... comforting him? He quickly collected himself and once again tried to dry his tears, this time with a better result.

"Thank you, Fratello, I feel a little better now... I just lost grip of my feelings a little bit..."

"It's okay..." Lovino had actually been a little relieved when he noticed that Feliciano was crying. An all-serious Feliciano made him nervous and uneasy.

Both of them became noticeably tense when the gate suddenly started to open, revealing big arena covered in sand. It kind of looked like one of those arenas grandpa Rome used to take them to when they where really small, before he got sent to Austria and Lovino to Spain, Feliciano noted.

They carefully entered, all while looking around curiously. Lovino was the first to spot the square formed cage in the middle of the arena. (The same Matthew had seen, just that it no longer where covered with a cloth.)

In the cage two figures stood. One was long and blond, and the other was tanned and had brown curly hair in which Lovino didn't even need time to recognize.

"Antonio!" He bolted forward, receiving a surprised yelp from Feliciano when the chain suddenly dragged him after his brother. Antonio, who before had stood with his back against them, turned around when he heard his name. Same did Ludwig.

"Ve~! It's Spain-nii! And Ludwig too~!" Feliciano chirped happily.

"Hola, mi querido Lovi," The Spaniard greeted with a big smile when the twins had made it over to the cage.

"Quit the bullshit, bastard! We'll get you out of there, so stop distracting me!" Lovino snapped, blushing and with tears in his eyes.

"But Lovi~!" Antonio whined. "I've missed you!"

"Yes yes, I'm sure you have. Now, where is the entrance to this thing?"

Ludwig, who had previously spoken to Feliciano, answered instead of Antonio.

"It's over there, but it's locked. We've tried to break it up, but it doesn't seem to open unless you've got the key."

"Ve... What are we going to do?"

"Look for the key, idio-..."

Lovino's sentence was interrupted by a grumble behind him, and he saw Anonio's face become visibly paler.

"You two. Don't. Move." The German's voice was very tense and his gaze was locked on something behind them.

"W-What...?" Very slowly, Lovino turned his head.

Behind them was a giant bear. At the moment it was on all fours, but even then it was huge, with sharp claws and white fangs. Its mouth was slightly open and a thin line of saliva was hanging from the corners. Madness shone in it eyes.

Suddenly it leapt forward, and before any one had time to react, it had buried its claws deep in Lovino's side.

**Chapter six, End**

Mohahaha! Another cliffhanger!! 8D I'm so evil!!

I'm forever grateful for all the wonderful reviews!! X3


	7. Chapter 7

I'm sorry it's so late! ...Ok, maybe it's more than late... But I hope you can forgive me anyway! ...Writer block is such a bi*ch! The worst part is that I can't even promise that the next chapter is going to come out any quicker... *sob*

Anyway! Thanks for all the lovely reviews! They were what kept me going! Love you all so much!

And, as always, a big hug to barefoot11 who beta'ed this chapter!

Chapter Seven

_Oh, god, it hurt so much!_Lovino gritted his teeth to prevent himself from screaming in pain as he sunk to the ground. He pressed his hand to the wound, only to feel his own blood seep through his fingers. Somewhere in the back of his pain-dazed mind he heard Feli and Antonio calling his name, their voices filled with shock and worry.

But he knew this wasn't the time to be concerned over some wound. The bear was still there, and he could hear it roaring. Probably preparing for a new attack. "F- Feli!" He managed to say between gasps, almost choking on his own words. "Feli, run!" His eyes were blurry and everything was spinning. Despite that he managed to grab the iron bars of the cage and drag himself into a standing position. But it was too much for his beaten body. Lovino felt his legs give way under him and the peripherals of his vision started to darken.

But before he hit the ground a couple of strong arms steadied him from behind. "Here, Feliciano!" Antonio said and threw the barely conscious Lovino into the younger one's arms. "Hurry, get away from here! We'll distract it!"

Feliciano somehow managed to catch his twin, but after that he didn't move. It was as if his feet where frozen to the ground. "Ve...! But... b-but... L-Lovi is... he's... I d-don't..." He was very pale and his whole body was shaking so violently he almost couldn't pronounce the words.

"Now, Feliciano!" Ludwig snapped and pushed Feliciano not too gently to the side. "You have to run! We'll deal with the bear!" There was loud noise when the bear threw itself against the metal bars at the same spot Feliciano had stood mere seconds ago. The German gripped the highest bars of the cage and heaved himself up before landing a kick straight in the bear's face. The beast growled loudly in anger and shook its large head, making saliva fly everywhere.

The sound seemed to snap Feliciano out of his paralyzed state. He secured his grip around Lovino at the same time he turned around and started to run. He desperately searched for somewhere to hide until he spotted two large wooden boxes.

He sprinted over the sand and reached his goal and threw himself behind it, breathing heavily. He carefully placed Lovino on the ground so he was leaning against the wood before crouching down in front of him. He purposely chose to ignore the fact that the whole front of his shirt was covered in his brother's blood.

"Lovino?" he questioned and gently shook the other's shoulder. When getting no answer other than a low groan, he instead moved over to inspect the wound. With shaky hands he removed the wet garment from Lovino's side, revealing a long cut. It was at least fifteen centimeters and fairly deep.

Even if he didn't look like it, Feliciano had seen many wounds. Probably all nations had. So just from first impression, he could tell that this wound was serious. It was probably bad enough to kill a normal human quickly.

He quickly took off Lovino's shirt and ripped most of it into makeshift bandages. The rest he used to wipe away as much blood as he could, which wasn't much because more always came. Lovino whimpered through clenched teeth as Feliciano started to wrap the bandage around his stomach and lower torso, making sure to apply pressure in hope of stopping – or at least slow down – the bleeding.

While he worked, Feliciano murmured soft nonsensical words he hoped were calming.

"Don't worry, _f__ratello_, It's alright. It's going to be alright. You're doing fine, just stay with me, ok?" Like a mantra, he kept repeating the words, focusing only on the task at hand._Wrap around. Apply pressure. Wrap around. Apply pressure._"It's going to be alright. It's going to be alright...-"

"Feli..."

Feliciano's head jerked up at his brother's sudden voice, eyes wide and brimmed with tears. Lovino's eyes were half open and a slightly unfocused and he breathed in quick, shallow breaths. Now and then he would wince from the pain, but managed to keep his facial expressions somewhat under control.

"Feli... w-where-..." Lovino's voice was cut short when Feliciano secured the bandage, accidentally nudging the wound which send a bolt of pain through his body. A low yelp escaped his throat.

"Ve, sorry Lovi!"

"No, it's ok, I'm f-fine."

Feliciano opened his mouth to object. Because, no, his brother was nowhere near 'fine'. But Lovino silenced him by putting a shaky hand in front of his mouth. "Listen to me, Feliciano. We..." Lovino paused for a moment, seeming to think something over before making a decision. "No. You. Feli, you got to take the key from the bear." At Feliciano's confused expression, he added, "I saw it hanging around the bear's neck."

"That... I can't... I can't do it. It's impossible for me. I-I'm too weak..." The younger twin looked solemnly down on his hands, not wanting to meet the other's gaze. He was afraid what he would see. Probably disappointment. His brother must think he was such a coward... Which he actually was, and that just made the matter worse. "A-And even if I could, how...?"

"Do you remember those things Grandpa Rome taught us when we were small?" Feliciano was surprised at the – almost – gentle tone in his twin's voice. He dared to lift his gaze just a bit to look at his brother's face. Lovino didn't look at him; instead he had his head turned to the side, a nostalgic look in his eyes.

After a short moment of thought, because there were many things their grandpa had taught them, he slowly nodded. He knew which of the things Lovino probably meant.

The holy magic.

It was similar to England's magic, but if England's was black, theirs was white. It was said that it was the ancient Roman Gods that had invented it so that they could fight each other without risking the opponent's life. Later, when the Roman Gods no longer existed, it was used by special trained priests in the Vatican. It was then it got the title of 'holy'. And it was also then the magic turned more violent.

"_Sí_, I remember... but I was never any good at it. I like painting more..."

"Come on, Feli! It isn't like you have a choice in this. You have to do it. I can't!" As to prove the truth in his statement, Lovino started to cough violently. Even if he tried to hide it from his brother, Feliciano saw the small drops of blood in Lovino's hand.

"_Fratello_, don't talk...!"

With weak and shaky hands, Lovino gripped his twin's shoulders, turning his head up so that their eyes met. "Don't you understand, Feli? That–" Another coughing fit. "–t-that cage isn't going to hold forever! When it breaks, Antonio and the potato-bastard are as good as dead!"

"B-but if it breaks, we don't have to get the key any more... A-and... And Ludwig and big brother Antonio a-are really strong, so–..."

"Feliciano!" Feliciano winced at his brother's hard voice. "I know they're strong... Antonio is fucking incredible with that battle axe of his... and – even if it hurts to admit – the potato bastard really knows how to handle a gun. But they don't have those things now..."

Feliciano stared more intensely at his hands. He was just weak little North Italy. What could he do?

"But, Lovi... W-we are chained together, remember? The magic doesn't work well with metal, right? A-and I'm too weak!"_Excuses_._Always excuses. I'm so pathetic. Useless._

"I know." Lovino looked down on their chained hands for a moment before he looked up at Feliciano's face again. There was no hesitation in his voice and his eyes shone with determination as he said his next words.

"That's why we're going to let it bite off my arm."

Matthew flinched as the bear once again threw its heavy body against the cage. Even if he couldn't see it all too clearly from where he sat, he feared that the cage – that compared to the bear seemed almost fragile – wouldn't hold much longer. Once again he looked at the large boxes. Ever since the twins had disappeared behind them there had been no movement or sound coming from that direction.

Was Lovino alright? Was he even alive...? Matthew shook his head to get rid of the negative thoughts. Of course he was alive! He was a nation for god's sake. Nations were nearly impossible to kill as long as their people were alive.

As long as their people were alive... that thought was what frightened him the most. Because the person he cared about the most didn't have any people had ceased to exist sixty-three years ago. So even if Gilbert didn't age like a human, wounds still affected him the same way. Everyone ignored it and Gilbert would never admit it and would surely beat anyone who dared to say so to a bloody pulp. But fact was fact; Gilbert was, compared to other nations, frighteningly fragile.

"Matthew, I think he's waking up."

Lucas's voice woke Matthew from his state of deep thought. "Eh...?"

"I think Matthias is waking up." The Dane repeated, eyes fixed on the pale nation in his lap. "Matthias, kan du høre mig?"

Matthias stirred slightly before his dark blue eyes opened slowly. After blinking a couple of times he suddenly bolted upright, almost falling off of Lucas's lap. He looked around, with a kind of groggy confusion displayed on his face.

"Matthias...?" Lucas said, calling for the other's attention.

Matthias looked at the Dane, seemingly even more confused. "Lucas... Du er ikke død...?"

"Huh? Nej, jeg er ikke... hvofor skal jeg være?" Matthew didn't understand most of the conversation; the only European languages he understood were French and a tiny bit of German. The German part existed of phrases like 'I'm awesome' or 'make me pancakes'. Anyway, whatever they where talking about must be very difficult matters, because now Lucas too looked confused.

After a moment of the two Scandinavians just staring at each other in confusion Matthias's expression suddenly changed to one of anger.

"Din jævla idiot!" The sudden outburst made both Lucas and Matthew jump. "Hvorfor må du alltid sette deg i fare? Har du selv vet hvor bekymret jeg var for deg?" Matthias ranted on, normally calm eyes flashing with anger. Then, as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. The Norwegian lowered his head, his light blond bangs shadowing his eyes. Two shaky hands reached up and gripped Lucas shirt. "Jeg trodde jeg skulle miste deg...!" Even if Matthew still didn't understand what was said, he could hear how the words were overflowing with feeling.

Without saying a word, Lucas embraced the smaller Nordic in a tight hug. Then he placed a soft kiss on Matthias's forehead before whispering softly:

"_Thanks for saving me, Matthias... I love you."_

"W-What?"

"You heard me. Don't make me repeat myself, idiot!"

Feliciano stared at his brother in shock and disbelief. "No. No no no! _Fretello_! How can you say that? You're already hurt!"

"Then do you have a better plan?"

"...Ve... B-But... Maybe i-if–"

"Good. Now shut your trap and do as I say." Lovino paused and breathed heavily. Obviously speaking so much wasn't the greatest thing to do when you had a rip in your stomach. Then he clenched his teeth and slowly tried to get to his feet. He wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for Feliciano who hurriedly helped his twin.

"Ve! Lovi! You shouldn't–"

"Shut up, Feli! Just shut up for once, ok?" Lovino snapped. "I know you're scared. I know you don't want any of this to happen." For the first time since their trial started, Feliciano saw traces of misery in his brother's eyes. He saw the sadness, pain and fear he himself felt. "But it does! And there's nothing changing that! We aren't just fighting for ourselves this time, Feli. So stop being such awuss and_help me do this_!"

Feliciano felt Lovino's words hit him. And they hit hard.

Lovino was right. He was a wuss. But they didn't have time for that now. There was no Ludwig to come and help him and no white flags to hide behind. There wasn't even a brother to be afraid and hide with. It was just him, Feliciano.

But that's where the problem came: Feliciano was a coward. So that's when he decided he wasn't Feliciano Vargas anymore.

He was a nation.

He was North Italy and nothing more.

Lovino almost recoiled back from the aura Feliciano suddenly emitted. It was cold, powerful and calm. In short it was everything the normal Feli wasn't.

Sure, he had tried to get Feliciano to stop being such a crybaby with his little 'speech', but he'd never expected something so extreme like this.

"Feli...?"

"I understand, South. I'm not afraid any more."

_South?_

He felt himself be carefully lowered to the ground again. He was too choked to protest. Feliciano took a steady grip around the chain. "This is going to hurt a bit." He said before sending a bolt of magic through the chain. Lovino felt a burning pain in his wrist as the metal made a zapping sound before falling of, leaving angry burn marks on both their wrists.

Feliciano stoop up again and stretched his back. He turned around and with a last glance at his brother he smiled coldly and said, "I'll be back soon."

With that he walked around the corner of the wooden box and disappeared out of Lovino's sight, the faint smell of burnt flesh still lingering in the air.

Feliciano felt strange. He was walking over the dry sand and a few meters away he saw the cage and the bear. At the same time it also was like he watched himself from somewhere outside of his body. But the strangest thing had to be that even if he was about so pick a fight with a raging bear, he wasn't afraid. It didn't even feel like he would lose. To be honest he didn't feel much at all. Very strange indeed.

As he came closer he noticed how bad of a shape the cage was in. It had moved quite a bit and almost every steel bar had been bent at least once. Some even looked like they would break any moment. He was actually a little surprised that one bear had managed to do all that in such a short amount of time.

The bear in question was at the moment circling the cage, probably looking for an opening. It hadn't noticed him yet.

The inhabitants of the cage were out of breath, but seemed fairly unhurt, the worst injuries being small scratches and bruises. That's good, he thought, because it would had been harder to get them out of there it they had more severe wounds.

He had the feeling that he should feel something for the two nations, especially the blond one, but he just couldn't find it in him to do it.

Meanwhile he walked closer and closer, he started to build up energy in his hand. Almost at once a glowing circle the size of a plate started to form around his palm. In the circle, rows of complicated letters appeared. Bolts of electricity like energy shot out from it and the air around his hand and arm vibrated under the pressure.

Now he was so close to the cage that he would be beside the bear in a few steps. He called to the people in the cage.

"Germany! Spain!" Both looked very surprised to see him. "I think it would be best if you stepped back a bit."

With that said he sprinted the last step forward and landed beside the bear. All it took was a shallow tap on the bear's massive shoulder blade and the circle imploded with a loud bang and the bear was sent flying to the other side of the room.

**Chapter seven, End**

Finally! You have no idea how hard it was to get this chapter written! But now it's done! I'm so awesome! *shot*

Anyway *dries away blood from forehead* I hope you enjoyed this crappy chapter, and if it's not too much trouble; please leave a review!

Aah~ thank you little sister for saving me from total humiliation! *bowing to me (The little sister)*  
(haha actually I did save her sorry ass, she had written totally wrong and almost destroyed the hole storyline! *~**s**hines with an almighty pride~* )

Ok, just for your information, it was my little sister who wrote the two likes above... It wasn't such a big mistake... or maybe it was... *go and grow mushrooms in a corner*

Translations:

Danish:

kan du høre mig? - Can you hear me?

Nej, jeg er ikke... hvofor skal jeg være? - No, I'm not... Why should I?

Norwegian:

Du er ikke død? – You're not dead?

Din jævla idiot! - You fucking idiot!

Hvorfor må du alltid sette deg i fare? Har du selv vet hvor bekymret jeg var for deg? - Why do you always have to get yourself into trouble? Do you have any idea how worried I've been for you?

Jeg trodde jeg skulle miste deg...! - I thought I would loose you...!


End file.
